checkrail

Here's the new Toad in a short train, one entirely composed of Rapido wagons. The second photo was even taken with the camera sitting on a Rapido wagon box. They certainly add quality to the rolling stock while thinning the wallet. And I still haven't ordered an SR 8-plank open. Looking forward to the GWR Micas, Opens, B-set and 44xx. John C.

Here's my Toad collection. From L to R: AA19 EXETER (Bachmann) AA3 NEWTON ABBOT (Oxford Rail, rebuilt with cannibalised Hornby and Ratio kit parts) AA3 NEWTON ABBOT - as above AA20 NEWTON ABBOT (Rapido) AA19 TAVISTOCK JUNCTION (Hornby) AA19 ROGERSTONE (Hornby) Looks like one of those brake van specials, but without the crowds. That's enough - mustn't buy any more! John C.

There's a description of it Nick, along with a trackplan of the rest of the layout, on my post of 22 August above. I'll post a pic or two later. Cheers, John

Another recent addition to stock at Stoke Courtenay is this Rapido AA20 Toad. I had it two weeks before I remembered to unpack it, which perhaps shows that I really didn't need another Toad! But I couldn't resist having one built to such a high spec in terms of detail. And when I saw that one came with Newton Abbot branding that was it. I've not done much to it yet - just shortened the t/l couplings and sprayed the white roof with Halford's grey primer. Oh, and I've painted the wheels with weathered black (having no Gibson 3-hole wheels in stock). I wish Rapido (and others) would use blackened wheels. I very much doubt that their 44xx will come out with shiny silver wheels, so why should a brake van? Like others I've taken the roof off to see the very nice interior detail, knowing in advance that - as Rapido admit - it wouldn't totally sit down on the body again with the magnets alone. Rapido are right in that once it's on the track the gap is hardly noticeable (especially if you keep the side with the gap away from the viewing side). Nevertheless, once the vehicle has had a bit of painting and weathering I'll probably glue the roof back down, with the inside never to be seen again! John C.

Hmm. Just pondering that. Shall I do it myself or take it to Steve at Grimy Times?

Train in the landscape. What an absolutely spiffing photograph.

Just made a perfect smokebox door lamp bracket for the Manor, then while straightening the upright bit I broke it off! So I tried @Harlequin's handy hint re Blacktack. Worked a treat. Thanks Phil! John C.

Not sure I need another Castle but had a look anyway. Was puzzled to read 'DCC ready: 21 pin socket' under the illustration, then in the 'Product Info' to read 'DCC users are catered for by an 8 pin socket in the tender'. Eh?

Yep, that was my first port of call, followed by several other sources. I guess that had these pre-war photographers seen a Manor down there - a new, named class of loco - they would have snapped it. (Think I've probably got every photo album of pre-war GWR pics going - but I still browse the second-hand book stands at exhibitions in case I come across something I've missed!)

Hey, no prob. Post anything you like on here. It's all learning, and I'll be interested as to how you get on with the iPhone app. The cameras in phones these days are in many cases better then ... er, cameras.

Yep, I was aware of that case Trevor, reported in the media and mentioned by me at the time somewhere else on this forum. It was a driver from Evri, formerly known as Hermes. Hope these firms have now all got protocols and checks in place to stop this happening. But my recent experience with DPD makes you wonder.

Last couple of the Manor for now. Here's a puzzling little story. When I received my Manor from Rails on Monday I soon realised that I needed a Next-18 decoder to make it go, and I only had 8-pins in stock. So I got onto Rails and ordered one for next day delivery. Subsequently I had an email from DPD telling me it would be delivered Tuesday between 12.04 and 13.04. I waited in, but nothing. Certainly no knock on the door. A bit later I got an email from DPD to say it had been delivered. I checked the front porch and garden but found nothing. I then phoned Rails who had received the same notification of delivery from DPD along with a photograph of the package sitting on the step in front of my door. Rails said they'd take up the matter with DPD. A while later a lady phoned from DPD. She told me (unsolicitedly) that drivers were personally liable for the value of articles not delivered, and said she'd send the driver back. All went quiet then until I heard the letterbox go at around 19.30. My decoder parcel was on the mat in the hall. I opened the front door but the driver had gone. All's well that ends well, but this sequence of events raises a lot of big questions and one small one. I will refrain from trying to answer the big ones without the advice of m'learned friends. As for the smaller one - if it was small enough to go through the letterbox why wasn't that done the first time? It's not like it need a signature or anything. John C.

I'm also leaning towards 4402, especially now Rapido have confirmed that it won't have the Princetown branch flange-lubricator thingy. But AFAIK it will have the shirtbutton, not the full lettering. John C.

Thanks Phil. I've got some somewhere but don't think it's yet been used. Thanks to for tips re coal.

A couple more of Anthony Manor. I'm sure you'll have noticed the lack of a lamp on the smokebox door to denote this as an ordinary stopping passenger train. That's because of the lack of a lamp bracket to put it on! Obviously I searched the elaborate de luxe packaging, and the area where I'd unpacked it, but to no avail. There's just a little glue spot where it once was. I emailed Accurascale, who referred me to Rails of Sheffield, who in turn informed me that as Accurascale had not yet arranged for a supply of spares Rails would be reliant on cannibalising any returns. So I decided to make one myself, using offcuts from old brass coach part frets, which I save for just this type of thing. I've had three unsatisfactory attempts so far, so fourth time lucky? The backstop of course would be to glue a lamp on the smokebox door, and restricting the Manor to stopping trains, parcels and some freight classes (which is how I'll be running it in practice anyway!) Other jobs to do include: Replace the tender handrail I dislodged while fitting the decoder Paint the front screw coupling. (No, I couldn't get it to hang on the stowage hook either) Add the crew I got from Modelu a while back Put some real coal in the tender (once I've worked out how to remove the plastic one) Then finally some light weathering. John C.

Visualisations look fabulous. I'd like them all, but one has to eat. Seriously though, you knowledgeable folks out there, which one should I order for a late 1930s S Devon location? (I'm happy to change insignia with new transfers - and even the number if necessary, but there might be pitfalls waiting there.) 4408 ? 4402 ? And what about that gizmo on the side of those working the Princetown branch? Flange lubricator? Spoilt the look of them anyway. John C.

Thanks John for reply and suggestions. The real game changer for me was the Panasonic TZ100 camera, with its ability to shoot in 'post focus' mode, essentially shooting a short MP4 video clip. I think the original purpose of this facility was so you could pick the frame you liked best, but it also takes you half way to focus merging without having to alter the focus manually at all. On my 70th birthday (5 years ago!) family and friends crowd-funded a snazzy DSLR for me. I couldn't get on with it at all (far too sophisticated for me - I didn't understand the manual or the jargon) , and I bought the TZ100 with the proceeds of its sale. When Andy Y. was photographing Stoke C. for BRM back in 2019 focus stacking came up in our conversation, and he observed that with my new camera I was already half way there. He was right. So thanks Andy @Andy Y And unlike the DSLR it's compact. I can stand it on the platform, or on a wagon box placed across the tracks. I use a tripod as well when required, but I do like to take photos from within the frame of the layout where possible. Regards, John

Hi John I'm afraid the answer is, "I don't know'. There are three elements to my new set-up - Mac, ffworks and Affinity Photo 2. I had to buy Affinity again when moving to a new computer so it seemed logical to buy the latest version. But I've only scratched the surface with Affinity. Focus merging is all I do with it, though I must learn how to clone and 'paint' to edit backgrounds in due course. The focus merging is now an incredibly quick process compared with before, but I'd guess - and it's only a guess - that it's the ffworks software that's made the difference rather than the updated version of Affinity. Unfortunately I don't think it's available for Windows but there are probably equivalents that are better than Windows Media Player. For cropping, colour adjustments etc. I just use the photo editing tools that came with the pc rather than try to do this with Affinity. Regards, John.

You're unlikely to be disappointed when it does.

Here's a new kid on the block. 'Manor from Heaven' as i called it on the Accurascale Manor thread just now, along with other musings. So I won't repeat what I posted there except to say that it's a beauty. I know that Manors in Devon and Cornwall was very much a 50s thing, so when this one was announced I dreamed up a might-have-been scenario in which one was sent temporarily to NA for testing on the banks and curves of the S. Devon main line. But I note that Anthony Manor went to Bristol Bath Road when new, so could very plausibly have appeared in the area on through workings, rendering my Rule 1 fiction redundant. I've not seen any pre-war photographic evidence but if anyone has I'd love to hear of it. John C.

Manor from Heaven. This beauty arrived on Monday from RoS, but excitement had to be curbed for 24 hours. I'd ordered the 'DCC ready' version (in the absence of a 'DCC fitted' one, other than the sound-equipped model). It hadn't registered with me that it required a Next-18 decoder and I only had 8-pin ones in stock. So I ordered a RoS Next-18 4-function one for next day delivery by DPD. (There's another story!) Fitting the decoder into the tender - and shortening the rear coupling - made me realise why Accurascale are so adamant about minimising the times you part tender body from chassis. As for the loco body I read their near total silence on the subject as "Don't go there". Super realism indeed, but at the price of a certain fragility in some areas. I'm afraid that while fitting the chip I dislodged a tender handrail. But I'm in good company - so did Andy Y in his video review. The loco runs beautifully - smooth, quiet and instantly responsive, with sensible gearing and a realistic top speed. The only electronic gremlin I had was that when I first put 7801 on the track on Monday the firebox glow came on. It hasn't done since, but since I hadn't missed it until now I care not a jot. Well done Accurascale. What's next I wonder? State of the art pannier tanks? More pics of 7801 on my layout thread in due course. John C.

This sequence ends with 8709 crossing over the pointwork to the down main to continue its journey. (The colour went haywire on thiis shot so I finished it in b & w.) The third vehicle in the train is one of those new-ish Rapido ex-SECR vans. As this photo series has shown I don't run to timetable or even give much thought to what time of day it is; I just run a random selection of trains typical, I hope, of the area in the late 30s. But I think it does show that there is enough operational interest (for my short attention span anyway!) in a roundy-roundy layout, especially if a junction and a decent goods yard are included. And this sequence didn't include any of the tail traffic or through coach operations I've illustrated on this thread before.. But a lot of the time I just like watching the trains go by! John C.

The pannier has now got all its ducks in a row ready to move on, and waits in the yard loop until a Castle-hauled up Plymouth express has cleared the station limits. John C.

Gosh, time flies. Last time I looked it was 1947 - now it's suddenly 1957! 'We've never had it so good'.

Shunting has recently paused for a couple of minutes or so allowing 4574 to run round its train. She's now re-coupled and simmers gently in the branch platform. The fireman has moved the lamp to the bunker end and they wait for the signal and the appointed departure time. And as the branch train departs for Earlsbridge 2818 comes through on the up line with returning coal empties. Meanwhile 8709 carries on shunting. John C.